The earplugs were not enough, and simultaneously, Ham and Holly clapped their hands over their ears. The firing continued for a full five minutes, then, apparently at another signal, abruptly stopped. The shooters all lowered their weapons, and all turned to look at the Humvee. A man climbed up onto the vehicle's roof and shoved a large clip into his weapon, then sat down cross-legged and sighted on the school bus. The crowd grew quiet.
The shooter took his time, then squeezed off a round. Holly was amazed at how much noise the gun made. Then the projectile hit the front of the school bus and two things happened almost at once. First, the bus's hood flew into the air, then it was followed by the engine, which popped up out of its bay a good three feet high.
Then the shooter sighted again and put three rounds into the bus, along its length. Abruptly, the bus exploded into a huge ball of flame.
Ham reached over and pulled one of Holly's earplugs out. "That's your phosphorus-tipped round."
"But why the big explosion?" Holly asked.
"I guess they must have put a few gas cans in the bus."
The crowd erupted in cheering, and the man on the Humvee roof stood up and took several bows.
"Well," Holly said, "I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like that."
"I have," Ham said.
With the show over, the crowd began to drift away from the pit, back toward the tent, revealing picnic tables spread along the grass on the lakeward side of the tent. Holly had not noticed until now that they were on a rise, and that the lake could be seen a couple of hundred yards away.
"I don't think I feel like staying for lunch," Holly said.
"Let's take a hike, then," Ham replied. "But we're supposed to check with that Peck Rawlings guy first."
"There he is," Holly said, pointing.
Ham led the way, and they approached the man who was, apparently, their host. "Mr. Rawlings?" Ham said.
Rawlings turned. "Call me Peck," he said.
"Well, Peck, we're going to be on our way. You said to check with you first."
"What did you think of our little demonstration?" the man asked.
Holly tried to muster some enthusiasm. "That was really something," she said.
"Yeah, boy," Ham echoed. "I haven't seen that much firepower all at once since Desert Storm."
"We do that at every show," Rawlings said.
"How often do you have them?" Ham asked.
"Oh, every now and then."
"Why don't you put us on y
our mailing list?" Holly asked.
"We don't have a mailing list," Rawlings said.
"Well, whatever," Holly replied.
"Ham, you want to give me your number?"
"I'm in the book," Ham said. "C'mon, Holly, let's hit the road."
"Right," Holly said.
Rawlings pulled a small walkie-talkie from his shirt pocket. "Hey, Charlie," he said.